A Fragile Peace and the Seeds of Conflict

The early 18th century was marked by a series of treaties—Utrecht (1713), Rastatt (1714), and Nystad (1721)—that promised lasting peace but proved as fragile as the post-World War I settlements. Even before the Great Northern War concluded, Western European powers were again at war. This conflict, however, featured an unusual alignment: Britain and France, traditional rivals, found themselves on the same side.

This diplomatic reversal, nearly as dramatic as the 1756 “Diplomatic Revolution,” underscored how dynastic concerns—rather than national interests—often dictated foreign policy. Louis XIV, for instance, had always prioritized Bourbon family ambitions, blending them with French state interests. His famous assertion, “L’État, c’est moi,” encapsulated this fusion. Yet Spain, under Queen Isabel Farnese of Parma, pursued purely dynastic goals, destabilizing European politics in her quest to secure Italian territories for her sons, Don Carlos and Don Felipe.

The Mediterranean Gambit and Great Power Reactions

In 1717, Spain launched a bold campaign to reclaim Sardinia and Sicily from Austria, assembling its largest fleet since Lepanto (1571). The swift victories alarmed other powers, particularly Britain and France, both invested in maintaining the status quo. The British, under Admiral Byng, decisively crushed the Spanish fleet at Cape Passaro (1718), while French forces invaded the Basque Country. By 1720, Spain was forced to capitulate, and the Treaty of The Hague redistributed Italian territories: Don Carlos gained Parma and Tuscany’s succession rights, while Austria retained Sicily.

This episode revealed Britain’s temporary dominance in European affairs, as it pressured Spain to honor commercial concessions and thwarted Austria’s Ostend Company ambitions. Meanwhile, Isabel Farnese’s persistence paid off in 1732 when Don Carlos entered Parma as its duke—a triumph orchestrated with British naval support.

The War of Polish Succession and Bourbon Ascendancy

The 1733–1738 War of Polish Succession exemplified how dynastic disputes could ignite continental wars. France backed Stanisław Leszczyński, father-in-law of Louis XV, against Austria and Russia’s candidate, Augustus III of Saxony. While France achieved military successes in the Rhineland and Italy, the conflict’s resolution at the 1738 Treaty of Vienna highlighted the era’s dynastic diplomacy:
– Stanisław received Lorraine (later to pass to France).
– Austria’s Francis Stephen (married to Maria Theresa) was compensated with Tuscany.
– Don Carlos traded Parma for Naples and Sicily, becoming “King of the Two Sicilies.”

France emerged as the arbiter of peace, consolidating Bourbon influence in southern Italy and outmaneuvering Austria.

Colonial Tensions and the War of Jenkins’ Ear

Simmering Anglo-Spanish tensions over trade in the Americas erupted in 1739 after Captain Robert Jenkins displayed his severed ear to Parliament, symbolizing Spanish “atrocities.” British naval victories, like Vernon’s capture of Porto Bello, were offset by strategic overextension. Meanwhile, France, recovering from the War of Spanish Succession, eyed colonial expansion—clashing with Britain in the Ohio Valley and the Caribbean.

The Austrian Succession Crisis and Prussia’s Ascent

The death of Emperor Charles VI in 1740 triggered a scramble for Habsburg lands. His daughter Maria Theresa inherited the throne under the Pragmatic Sanction, but Prussia’s Frederick II saw an opportunity. Seizing Silesia in December 1740, he stunned Europe at the Battle of Mollwitz (1741), proving Prussia’s military might.

France, initially dismissive of Frederick, allied with him to dismantle Habsburg power, envisioning a partitioned Central Europe. Yet Frederick’s pragmatism led him to secret truces with Austria, betraying his allies to secure Silesia. By 1745, after victories at Hohenfriedberg and Kesselsdorf, Prussia retained Silesia via the Treaty of Dresden, while Maria Theresa’s husband, Francis I, became Holy Roman Emperor.

The Diplomatic Aftermath and the Five-Power System

The 1748 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle ended the war with minimal territorial changes but profound geopolitical shifts:
– Prussia, now a major power, joined France, Britain, Austria, and Russia in a new pentarchy of European great powers.
– Spain’s Bourbons secured Italian duchies for Don Felipe, fulfilling Isabel Farnese’s ambitions.
– Austria, though humiliated, preserved its core territories, setting the stage for future revanchism under Maria Theresa.

Legacy: The Dawn of a New European Order

The mid-18th century marked the decline of purely dynastic warfare and the rise of state-centric power politics. Prussia’s emergence under Frederick the Great redefined Central Europe’s balance, while colonial rivalries between Britain and France foreshadowed global conflicts. The era’s diplomatic maneuvering—epitomized by Frederick’s realpolitik and Maria Theresa’s resilience—laid the groundwork for the revolutionary wars and Napoleonic upheavals to come.

In the end, the century’s conflicts proved that while dynasties might wage wars, it was the strength of states—and their armies—that would dictate the future.